A Story

My current job is that of an assistant teacher in a classroom with children 18 months to 2.5 years. It's a grueling job some days having to chase after anywhere from 8 to 9 kids but it's rewarding.

One of my favorite things about the job is interacting with all of the kids that come in. There was this one day, about a week ago now, that the teacher wasn't there. So for all intents and purposes, I was the teacher. We have one kiddo that is at the lower end of the age group who has formed an attachment to the teacher and is not overly fond of others yet because she is still adjusting to everything. But that day I realized that while I thought she had not formed an attachment to anyway, I had thought wrong.

Unbeknownst to me, the entire time she'd been getting comfortable with having me around. Enough so that without the teacher there, she knew that she was safe with me and would be comfortable with me if something was wrong. It was touching to me because kids often find those that they are safe with and stick to them, not wanting to be around others. Knowing that I had made the child comfortable enough to feel safe with me was so heartwarming and satisfying. It was in that moment alone that I knew this was the job for me.